Wishes
by Ivy the Wombat
Summary: Discontinued.
1. Shooting Stars

"Come on, Shadow," Rouge exclaimed, "Aren't you going to come out on the roof and see the stars?"

The black hedgehog glanced at her with his usual unreadable expression, and then returned to the newspaper he was skimming on the kitchen table. There was to be a meteor shower over Night Babylon, and the workers and few residents who lived there had closed up shop early and turned off their lights so the sky could be fairly viewable. However, the idea of sitting on a cold roof and watching small lifeless rocks bounce off the stratosphere was not appealing to Shadow in the least, and he felt that he would not be swayed to do so no matter how much Rouge bugged him about it.

"No, I'm busy." He stated matter-of-factly, turning another page.

"Sure you are."

"I mean it, Rouge. Unlike you, I take my job seriously."

"You're just reading the paper."

"It's important to know what's going on in the world," Shadow pointed out.

Rouge wasn't convinced. "I'm positive you can find time in your packed schedule to watch the stars with me, Shadow. Can't you just do it for me?"

Shadow shook his head. "Why should I do anything for you?"

"Hm. Maybe because I provide you food and shelter…?"

"I don't require food."

"If you did, I would provide it. It's the thought that counts."

The black hedgehog rolled his eyes. "I've done enough for you."

He

Rouge narrowed her eyes. "So you're just going to sit there reading yesterday's newspaper? It's not every night that you can actually see the stars in this city, you know. Much less shooting ones."

"I prefer not to waste my time gazing at burning gas. And the stars aren't 'shooting'. The meteors are."

"Stars, meteors, same difference" the white bat huffed, annoyed. "Can't you just enjoy yourself for five seconds? You never relax! I think watching the stars with me would do you some good."

"I can relax. I'm relaxing right now. See? I'm reading the newspaper and having a peaceful evening." Shadow grunted with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Oh yeah? And what else do you do to relax? Lament about your poor, lost friend Maria?"

He bristled. "I have put my past behind me. You of all people should know that."

"I guess that explains why you mutter her name in your sleep sometimes. You're such a liar."

Shadow opened his mouth to offer a rebuttal, but closed it when he realized he had been defeated. He turned back to his newspaper angrily. "I'm still not coming out."

"Are you sure?

He nodded.

Rouge suddenly leaned over the table and came face to face with the black hedgehog, placing her hand on his and smiling in her habitually flirtatious way. "It would make me really happy if you did."

Shadow pulled his hand away and sneered. "Your happiness is not my responsibility. I already told you, I've done enough for you."

"Stop playing dumb, Shadow! We both know that the reason you help me is bigger than paying me back."

"I don't understand…"

Rouge poked him in the chest, making him flinch. "You have certain feelings toward me."

"Our relationship is professional, and it will always be that way." The hedgehog muttered darkly.

"Come on Shadow, don't deny-" She was cut off sharply as a gloved hand slapped her across the face. Her jaw dropped as she stared at Shadow. He was looking at his hand as if it had just sprouted tentacles and a head. His blood red eyes were full of agony as he faced away from the white bat.

Rouge got up angrily and flew out the kitchen window and onto the roof.

The soft breeze of the night caressed her face as she looked up at the giant blanket of navy blue dotted with twinkling lights. She had never seen so many stars! A half moon hung regally in the center, casting a bright and soothing glow. The muted sounds and familiar smells of the city washed around her, and the white bat soon pushed the thought of Shadow to the back of her mind.

Rouge had always felt something toward Shadow that she rarely ever felt toward any other male. Almost all of them would gladly give her what she wanted because of her good looks and charm, but Shadow was a different story. Rouge would try every flirtatious trick in the book, and he wouldn't even budge. He judged her by her personality instead of her body, and, somehow, that was highly attractive to her. Sometimes, when he was in a good mood, they would talk until the early hours of the morning about nothing in particular. Ever since he had resolved to forget his past, they had grown, in a subconscious way, very close.

But with good comes the bad. They were constantly fighting, and sometimes Shadow would get so angry that he would leave for a random amount of time. Sometimes it would be hours, and sometimes it would be days or weeks. The longest time he was gone was for a little more than a month. Rouge would sometimes cry at first, but then get on with her life as if nothing had happened. She had learned to live with Shadow's mood swings and minor mental problems that had sprouted from his troubled past and possibly the emotional weight of being immortal.

Immortality. Oh, how she hated that word. She sometimes suspected that the reason Shadow always distanced himself from everyone is because he's afraid that he will go through the Maria thing all over again if he has too many close friends. Or if he falls in love.

Who needs that stupid hedgehog when you got something much more fascinating to admire? Rouge thought, snapping out of her daze as she ran her eyes over the Milky Way. She quickly scoped out the few constellations that she knew, but her star hunting was soon interrupted when something caught her eye. And another thing. And another thing. Rouge soon realized that she was seeing shooting stars.

Suddenly, she was even more mesmerized than ever before. Every time she saw a new light streak across the sky, whether it was for a second or three, she was overcome with joy. She felt like a little kid who was going to Disneyworld for the first time.

Feeling a presence behind her, she turned around and saw a certain black hedgehog standing awkwardly and gazing upwards. Her euphoria was vaporized, and she raised her brow skeptically. "So, you changed your mind, huh?"

Shadow sat down beside her, still keeping his head tilted upwards. "I just wanted to check if these stars are really as special as everyone makes them out to be."

"And are they?"

"Well, they're certainly not as magnificent as they are on the ARK, but..."

"But...?"

"They're not your average stars, either."

"So you like them."

"Yes. Yes I do." He mumbled softly as he lay down beside her. "I especially like these meteori- shooting stars. They last longer than other ones I've seen."

Rouge smiled. "You know, they say if you make a wish on a shooting star, it will come true."

"I know" Shadow said softly, "everyone knows that, even if it doesn't really work."

"And how do you know it doesn't work?"

"I used to wish on shooting stars all the time, and my wishes never came true."

"Did you tell anybody your wishes? They won't come true if you tell."

Shadow was silent, and then he nodded.

"See?" Rouge said teasingly, taking his hand. She braced herself for him to pull it away again, but he remained still. "How about we both make a wish on the next shooting star that comes."

To her surprise, the black hedgehog smiled. He scanned the heavens and then pointed urgently. "There's one now!"

Rouge closed her eyes and silently mouthed her wish. When she opened them, she was taken aback at what she had just wished for. The idea had come from nowhere, a spur of the moment, it didn't even sound like something that she would come up with. She glanced over at Shadow and saw that he still had his eyes closed and was mouthing something frantically. From what Rouge could tell, he was repeating the same sentence multiple times. She gently squeezed his hand, and the black hedgehog closed his mouth and opened his eyes.

Yawning, Rouge started to stand up, still holding Shadow's hand. "We should get to bed, Shadow. I'm exhausted."

The two walked to their bedroom window and climbed in. As Rouge went to the bathroom to remove her makeup and get changed, Shadow sat down on his bed and started to remove his shoes, socks, gloves, and power rings.

Rouge walked out wearing a pink silk nightgown and started heading for her bed, but Shadow was suddenly blocking her path. His expression was soft as he kissed her on the cheek. "I'm sorry about earlier..."

He was just about to go back to bed when the white bat grabbed him and pressed her lips against his. The hedgehog was mildly surprised, but then he just hugged her closer and kissed harder. They finally pulled away, gasping for breath.

"I might forgive you in the morning." Rouge said sleepily.


	2. A Shocking Discovery

Rouge sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. Golden sunlight streamed in through the window, giving the room a warm glow. Rouge glanced over at the bed across the room to find Shadow still sleeping deeply.

She smiled. She always thought Shadow looked a lot more peaceful when he was sleeping than when he was awake. His brow wasn't creased, his mouth was almost a smile, and he wasn't so tense.

"Sleep tight, big boy." She whispered as she got out of bed. As she was heading for the kitchen, she tried to take small steps so as not to disturb him. She started up her espresso machine and loaded the toaster with two slices of bread. Turning around, she saw Shadow standing in the doorway. So much for keeping quiet.

Rouge noticed right away that something was a little off about him. The black hedgehog normally stood straight and upright with feelings of superiority coming off of him in waves, but the hedgehog standing in front of her was hunched over slightly, and his blood red eyes- which were normally steely and unwavering- were now slightly watery, and he had an air of insecurity about him.

"How did you sleep?" Rouge asked as he headed for the table.

"I slept fine. But I feel… odd…" he mused.

Rouge sat down. So he noticed the difference also. "How so?"

"I'm… not sure. I feel weak, and I'm feeling these strange sensations I've never felt before. And I have this… ache…"

"Where do you ache?" Rouge then noticed that Shadow was clutching his stomach. "In your stomach?"

The black hedgehog nodded, his eyes full of confusion.

Rouge smiled sexily. "Maybe it's just the emotions of last night catching up to you."

Shadow's muzzle turned a deep red, and then he put his hands up to his face in surprise. "My face just heated up…"

"You blushed, Shadow. Your face is all red."

He gave her a quizzical look. "Blushed?"

"Haven't you ever blushed before?"

"I've never had my face feel that hot before, not counting when I've been near something that's burning."

Suddenly, the toast popped out of the toaster. As Rouge got up to go get it, she tried to change the subject. "So, has your wish come true yet?"

Shadow's eyes hardened and he gripped the table angrily. "It will never come true. You don't actually believe that wishing on stars actually works, do you?"

"Well, you seemed pretty convinced last night. Personally, I thought it was worth a shot. I had never actually tried it until now." Rouge explained, slightly relieved that he was acting more like his normal self, even if his 'normal self' included displaying an absurd amount of angst. "Why are you so angry all of a sudden?"

"I don't want to talk about last night." He hissed, his blood red eyes flashing with anger.

"Alright, just calm down" Rouge said as she poured coffee into her cup. She sat down, taking a bite of toast. Shadow suddenly had an intent look on his face, all the anger gone in an instant.

"That smells lovely." He commented. Rouge followed his gaze to the pieces of toast in her hand.

"What? This?" She indicated, holding up one of the warm slices. She could hear a faint growling coming from Shadow's stomach. He was… hungry? "Do you want to try it?"

He nodded, grabbing the bread and stuffing it messily into his mouth. He wolfed it down in four seconds flat, and started to lick the excess crumbs off his fingers.

Rouge was completely taken aback. She had never seen Shadow eat anything for all the time she'd known him. His strange behavior was starting to disturb her. "Shadow, are you okay?"

The black hedgehog closed his eyes and laid his head down on the table. "I don't know, Rouge. I just don't know. I feel so odd. It feels like I'm in a different body. One that's weaker and a lot less familiar than the other one. I'm fidgeting and I still have that stomach ache and I want more toast!"

Rouge was starting to feel fearful for Shadow. True, he was starting to act more like himself. But something was still wrong. His posture, his eyes, his hunger, his weakness…

Her wish.

She shook her head. It couldn't have come true. Wishes on stars never worked. Unless…

Rouge took a deep breath. "Shadow, I… last night, I wished that you weren't immortal, and call me crazy, but I think it came true."

Silence. Shadow's face was expressionless as Rouge waited anxiously for a response. The only sound was of the two breathing. The only movement was the rise and fall of their chests and the occasional fidget.

"Shadow…?"

No response.

"Shadow…"

Still no response.

"Shadow!"

The black hedgehog blinked once. Twice. Still no response.

"Shadow, don't you realize what this means? At all? You should be happy! And…"

Rouge stopped talking when she realized that Shadow still hadn't moved much. His expression had morphed into something that could only be described as numb shock. Lifting his head, he stared off into the distance. "Rouge… I… I wished for the same thing."

Strangely enough, the white bat wasn't surprised. "Maybe that's why it came true."

Shadow just nodded numbly, studying his hands. He smiled dreamily. "I'm not immortal?"

"Yes, Shadow, you're not immortal."

"I'm not?"

Rouge sighed, smiling. "No, Shadow. You're a mortal being."

"I am?"

"Stop being stupid Shadow."

"Hey Rouge, guess what? I'm A mortal, not IM mortal.

Rouge sighed again, coming to the conclusion that the black hedgehog was in shock. She took his hand and led him to the living room. She pointed to the couch. "You need to lie down, Shadow."

He happily obliged. Closing his eyes, he started to hum a random tune.

Rouge was a little surprised at how easy that was. She walked back into the kitchen to clean up her breakfast, then remembered Shadow wanted more toast. She stuck some more bread in the toaster, and walked back to the room to get dressed and apply her makeup.

As she was applying her mascara, she was thinking about what had just happened with Shadow. Before she knew it, she was fantasizing a future with him filled with love and happiness. It wasn't unusual for her to think about that kind of stuff because she, of course, deeply cared for the black hedgehog.

Suddenly, everything was blurry as tears rolled down her cheeks. She fell to her knees as huge sobs racked her body. She wasn't sad, though. Overjoyed was the word.

Turns out she had been in shock too.

When Rouge finished washing off and reapplying her makeup, she headed back to the kitchen to pick up Shadow's toast, and then to the living room to find Shadow still lying on the couch, but this time he wasn't humming or spouting nonsense.

"Hello Shadow. How are you feeling?" She asked as she handed him the plate of toast. He sat up and started stuffing them into his mouth. Rouge frowned at him sternly. "That's not good for you, Shadow. You'll choke yourself. Eat it slowly and chew before you swallow."

The black hedgehog complied. After he finished swallowing the last piece, he smiled. "Thank you for the toast. I'm sorry about earlier."

"That's okay. You were just in shock."

"Yeah…"

"I guess it must be kind of depressing to suddenly figure out your going to die instead of live forever."

The black hedgehog just shook his head. "It's actually a relief. I've been coming up with a list of possible ways to kill myself. Now that I know I can leave that to fate, my mind is at ease."

Rouge's eyes widened. "Kill yourself? But why?"

Shadow smiled bitterly despite the fact that he was blushing again. "You."

"Me?"

"You are my only reason for existing…" He blushed even deeper. "I was going to kill myself as soon as you died. Plan B was going on a destructive rampage and letting G.U.N. lock me up again. I just can't imagine a life without you."

Rouge was speechless. No one had ever said something as beautiful and heartfelt as that to her. Her eyes blurred once again as she threw her arms around Shadow and hugged him close.

"I think I love you, Shadow."

"Me too."


	3. Much Needed Help

Shadow retched, clutching both sides of the toilet as he spat up sour bile and toast. Rouge had rushed him to the bathroom as soon as he mentioned feeling sick, saving her living room from a disgusting fate.

"What was that?" He coughed, wiping drool from his face. His throat burned, and his mouth tasted foul.

Rouge leaned over him sympathetically. "It's called vomiting. Your body probably isn't used to having that much food in your stomach. Plus, some people vomit when they are feeling emotional."

Shadow stood up and dusted himself off. "Well, I hope I never have to 'vomit' again. What is the purpose of it, anyway? It's absolutely repulsive!"

"I'm pretty sure it's your body's way of defending itself against harmful substances."

"Harmful substances? I'm immo-" he stopped himself just in time. "I'm sorry, I should probably be more careful. Can I still have more toast?"

Rouge sighed, flushed the toilet, and followed him into the kitchen. "You can't just eat toast, you know."

"Why not?"

"Because you need to have a balanced diet. See, your body needs certain amounts of different vitamins and minerals to function right. Don't you know anything about the food pyramid and nutrition?"

His blank expression indicated that he had no idea what she was talking about.

She sighed once more and decided to give him a small glass of milk and some crackers. She suspected his stomach was smaller than most people, considering it was new, so she would have to gradually increase the amount of food he ate each day. Rouge felt an oncoming sense of dread. He obviously knew little to nothing about being mortal. Nutrition, hygiene, medical terms...

...

Masculine functions?

She suddenly felt like an inexperienced single mother raising a toddler. She loved Shadow more than anything, but the work she had ahead of her was a little overwhelming.

The black hedgehog seemed to notice her slightly distressed expression. "Is something wrong, Rouge?"

"No, I'm just feeling a little emotionally exhausted, that's all." Suddenly, an idea sprang into the white bat's mind. Maybe she didn't have to do this all by herself after all. She smiled. "Hey Shadow, I just remembered. I have some errands to run and I need to get a couple of things. Do you think you'll be okay staying here for a little bit?"

He nodded, silently nibbling on a thin cracker. She rushed out of the kitchen, grabbing her shoes and gloves and shoving them on as she rushed out the door.

Shadow watched her go with suspicion. What was so great about running errands? He shrugged and turned back to his small breakfast.

Experiencing the sensation of taste was shocking to the black hedgehog at first. When he was immortal, he never had the need to eat, and the scent of food had never appealed to him in the least. But when he had become mortal, the scent of that first slice of toast had been all encompassing, like nothing he had ever known before. And when he had tasted the crisp bread, he believed himself to be in heaven.

He finished in the kitchen and then went to the living room, scooping up his iPhone on the way in.

"_Nutrition" _he typed in the search box.

Rouge rang the doorbell located right next to the tall oak door. She heard its grand melody echo ominously through the house. Almost immediately the door swung open, and a sleepy-looking blue hedgehog stood in front of her. His eyes widened a little at the sight of her, and he flashed his trademark smile. "What are you doing here, Rouge?"

"I need your help with something, Sonic."

"What is it?"

"I think it's better if we sit down." Rouge said patiently.

Sonic nodded and led her to his obnoxiously large living room filled with expensive Ikea furniture. She gracefully sat down in a dark grey armchair across from Sonic and took a deep breath. "It's about Shadow. This may sound crazy, but because of a strange course of events, he has become mortal."

"What?" Sonic exclaimed softly, a little stunned. He was silent as he digested the news, and then he went back to his old smiling self again. "So, old Shadow is finally mortal, huh? I wonder if that means he'll lighten up about everything and not be such a buzz kill."

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure he has a good attitude from now on." She said, smiling deviously.

"But I still don't see why you need me." He laughed. "What, do you want me to be his little buddy?"

"Well, in a way, yes." She said matter-of-factly. "I'm trying to teach him how to be a mortal, but because of our opposite genders, there is only so much I can do. I was thinking that you could teach him everything about being a guy."

The blue hedgehog's face fell. "What? Like telling him how to use the bathroom and stuff like that?"

Rouge smiled awkwardly. "I was thinking of you showing him, but telling him works too."

"Okay," He said, taking a deep breath. "I'll do it. In fact, I'll come over right now. Just let me get ready real fast. It won't take long."

He started to head upstairs, but then turned around and stared at Rouge. "Are you and Shadow… together?"

She smiled. "You could say that…"

Sonic gave her a thumbs up and headed the rest of the way upstairs.

Shadow looked up from his iPhone at the sound of the door opening and closing. He sat up and realized that instead of hearing one set of footsteps, he heard two. One of them he could definitely tell was Rouge's, but the other one was less familiar. He still recognized it as one he had heard before, but it just wasn't clicking in his mind.

At least it wasn't clicking until he saw a certain blue hedgehog standing in the doorway of the living room.

"What are you doing here?" Shadow growled. Rouge appeared in the doorway next to him.

"Shadow, I invited Sonic over so he could help you understand mortal males. It's important that you know this if you want to function properly in society."

The hedgehog and bat suddenly felt a sudden gust of wind as Shadow zipped past them and down the hall, shouting obscene things about Sonic. The blue hedgehog was right on his tail a second later.

Rouge sighed, frustrated. They had a lot of work to do.


	4. Not Cooperating

Sonic sighed as he swung open the door and glanced around the small bedroom. He and Rouge had been searching the house for about a minute now trying to find Shadow, and he could have sworn he heard a noise coming from this room.

The blue hedgehog grinned and stepped inside. "Come on, Shadow, I know you're in here."

There was no response. Sonic scanned his surroundings, and caught the slightest hint of movement out of the corner of his eye from under one of the twin beds. In a split second, he was on his hands and knees by the foot of the bed, peering into the depths underneath.

A dark silhouette scooted farther under, growling. The blue hedgehog smiled arrogantly and chuckled. "Hey faker."

Shadow just grunted, loathing in his eyes.

"Are you gonna come out from under there?"

"…"

"Come on, Shadow."

"Go away."

Sonic sat up, annoyed. He pondered the idea of leaving to find Rouge, but then the black hedgehog might escape their detection again. He leaned back against the bed. "You know, I could always drag you out."

"You? Drag me? Don't make me laugh!" Shadow exclaimed. "Why don't you just leave? You probably have better things to do."

"If I did, why would I be here helping you? I'm on vacation."

He pouted. "Oh, YOU get a vacation…"

"Have you ever considered not being such a grouch for once, Shadow?"

Suddenly, pain exploded in the blue hedgehog's nose and he flinched away. He put his hands up to his face and felt something warm and wet seep into his gloves. Shadow had punched him in the nose. Hard.

"Have you ever considered not being such an arrogant bastard for once?" Shadow inquired indignantly from under the bed.

Sonic got up and ran to the bathroom, passing Rouge in the hallway. As he was removing his blood stained gloves and pressing toilet paper up against his face, she appeared in the doorway.

"I take it you've found him…?" The bat concluded with a sympathetic smile.

He nodded. "He's under the bed in the other room. He obviously doesn't want to come out."

She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry he did that to you. I'll go talk to him."

"It's okay." The blue hedgehog gave his trademark smile. "It's not your fault he hates everyone except for you."

Rouge blushed slightly, then quickly walked down the hall.

As soon as Sonic had left the room, Shadow had crawled out from under the bed and hidden in the closet. He slid down to the ground and rested his head between his knees, feeling emotionally exhausted from the recent events of the morning. He still hadn't quite wrapped his head around the fact that he was now mortal. And all these new sensations were so hard to get used to. And his feelings for Rouge seemed to have been increased ten-fold.

But still, he wasn't going to befriend that blue hedgehog any time soon, since he had practically humiliated him in front of Rouge. Well sure, it was most likely her idea, but he had agreed to it! Shadow then vowed to get back at Sonic.

He was interrupted from his musings by hearing someone enter the room. He held his breath and tried not to fidget, another new thing he hadn't gotten used to that had given him away to Sonic earlier.

A voice that seemed to come from a Holy angel made his heart leap. "Shadow, are you under there?"

He peaked out of the closet to see Rouge heading over to the bed he had previously been under. The black hedgehog slipped silently out of the closet and into the hallway, surprised that he was able to stay quiet enough that Rouge wouldn't notice him. He headed down the hallway, determined on finding Sonic and showing him that the bloody nose was only the beginning for humiliating him.

Upon entering the living room, Shadow spotted his target sitting on the couch, his bloody nose reduced to a slight dribble that the hedgehog continued to dab at. He suddenly ran up and smacked him in the back of the head, sending Sonic tumbling to the floor.

The blue hedgehog looked up in revelation. "What was that for, faker?"

Shadow jumped over the couch, landed next to Sonic and grabbed his wrists, hurling him toward the nearby wall. He spin-dashed just in time to ricochet off of it and come hurling back at Shadow, hitting him square in the stomach. The black hedgehog grunted and was thrown into the couch, pushing the large piece of furniture back a little. He kicked Sonic off, sending him skidding all the way to the kitchenette and colliding with the small table.

Rouge came running in response to the commotion and found two very worn out hedgehogs and an almost destroyed living room. She facepalmed and sighed heavily. "I'll never understand men."

"Hey, don't look at me. I didn't start this." Sonic accused, slowly getting up.

"I know, Sonic." Rouge assured.

Shadow stood up angrily despite the pain. "Why are you taking his side?"

"Because you're the one who's acting immature! I swear, sometimes you can be the most ungrateful little… ugh!"

Shadow didn't seem to hear what she said because his attention was directed at the blue hedgehog that was currently exiting through the backdoor. "Where are you going, faker?"

"I'll come back later when you're not being such an asshole and you've worked out your relationship issues." Sonic called over his shoulder.

"I don't have relationship issues!"

"Oh yeah?" Rouge fumed. "I agree with Sonic. You ARE being an asshole." She turned on her heel and walked out of the living room.

"Rouge, wait!" Shadow pleaded, following her down the hall. He turned to follow her into the bedroom, but she shut the door in his face, and he heard the dreaded sound that no one wants to hear: the lock click.

He rested his forehead in his hand and frowned sadly. He turned around and leaned against the wall. He definitely had some waiting to do.


End file.
